Robert Donat plays British filmmaking pioneer William Friese-Greene in The Magic Box, presented Sunday night by The Film Society

DVD box for the 1951 film The Mgaic Box , starring Robert Donat as pioneering British filmmaker William Friese-Greene. Image from amazon.co.uk

Sunday, May 19, 2013, The Film Society / Le Cinéclub is showing The Magic Box, a film about filmmaking pioneer William Friese-Greene. His efforts were not as successful as those of Thomas Edison, the Lumière brothers, or Georges Méliès, which probably explains why he is not as well known today as they are. Nonetheless, his story sounds like an interesting one. To top it all off, he is played by the great actor Robert Donat (1905-1958).

So, besides learning more about William Friese-Greene, audiences can also learn about (or re-visit) a suave and elegant star of an earlier era. Donat is known for many films, but I especially liked his performances in The 39 Steps and The Count of Monte Cristo.

Richard Attenborough, Laurence Olivier, Stanley Holloway, Maria Schell, and Eric Portman are among the other actors in the film. There are only seven reviews about The Magic Box at imdb.com. (Bosley Crowther, of the New York Times, who wrote his review in 1952, seems particularly cranky. But maybe Crowther just didn’t like any movies very much any way. I’m tempted to think so after reading a lot of his reviews. Maybe we should just leave him, back there in 1952.)TV Guide says: “. . .viewers are treated to the sight of at least 50 of England’s finest actors, all playing tiny bits. (Laurence Olivier, for example, is quite amusing as a police officer who is an early witness to the moving pictures.) Friese-Greene is hardly remembered now and had already been dead more than 30 years when THE MAGIC BOX was made, but the filmmakers’ conviction that his story should be told convinced all of the actors (who agreed to alphabetical billing) to devote their talents to this good-looking, well-directed film. Donat is excellent, holding his own among the industry’s finest.”

Bill Thompson at Bill’s Movie Emporium appreciated the film and I enjoyed reading his review. He says: “It’s sad that such a great film has been all but forgotten, but then again it wasn’t that recognized during its initial release. But, one of the joys of movie watching is finding those hidden gems that shock you with their greatness.”

“The Magic Box is a story of genius, the lengths genius can take you to and how far one can fall when their genius isn’t appreciated or recognized. William Friese-Greene is a genius of unparalleled levels when it comes to photography and camera. Like any true genius he approaches his experimentation with a childlike wonder that is a joy to watch. The amazing thing about The Magic Box is that because of its fractured narrative we already know how Friese-Greene’s life will play out, that he will fail in grand fashion, but that doesn’t stop it from being a suspenseful journey through Friese-Greene’s travails. The movie builds upon this sense of wonder, scene after scene making you believe that he is that much closer to perfecting his creation. This culminates in the scene when Friese-Greene first tries out his machine, and as he begins to crank it we hope beyond hope that it will work. And then when it does and he is running frantically down the street we are happy as could be for him, even if we do know that his machine will never bring him any of the acclaim it should.” “The Magic Box also looks beautiful, the Victorian era comes alive on the screen. The dresses and suits look authentic, the dingy dark rooms are both true to their time and clearly the home of an obsessive genius. The interactions with his family provide the counter to his genius as a good thing. You see how Friese-Greene’s genius constantly put up a barrier between the man and his family. He isn’t a bad man, but genius does cause people to be more selfish than most, and Robert Donat pulls off the many levels of William Friese-Greene with great aplomb.”

Here are yet more words about the film, taken from the Film Society’s Facebook page: “(The Magic Box), in part, inspired Martin Scorsese’s 2011 award winning film Hugo. During his cameo in Hugo, Scorsese pays homage to this film. When asked, “Can you remember the first time you sat in the cinema and were really inspired by a film,” Scorsese replied “the film that I think created the biggest impression on me about film and about filmmaking – the one that prompted me to say ‘maybe you could do this yourself’ – was The Magic Box.”

“. . . Historical footage is brilliantly incorporated into the story. Master cinematographer Jack Cardiff creates beautiful images of the era including old wood and brass magic lanterns and early movie equipment. . . . “The cast stars just about every major British star of the time. The most famous cameo is by Sir Laurence Olivier, as the astonished policeman who witnesses Friese-Greene’s first triumph, the first projection of moving images of Hyde Park on an improvised sheet screen.”

And here are a few words about William Friese-Greene from Brompton.co.uk, a company that makes folding bicycles. (Go figure. . . ): “William (Friese-Greene) spent perhaps too much time filing patents and coming up with ideas, and too little time looking after his finances. He was weighed down by money troubles, including a spell in prison for borrowing money while an undischarged bankrupt; but he remained an energetic optimist.”

“In 1921 William was attending a meeting in London on the parlous state of the British film industry. Angered by the attitude of some of the audience, he got to his feet to speak but soon became incoherent. He was helped back to his seat, and shortly afterwards slumped forward and breathed his last. He died a pauper while the industry he gave birth to generates billions of pounds annually.”

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.